Morphological Study of Human Fetal Lung with Respect to Gestational Age in the Tertiary Care Center of Kumaon Region of Uttarakhand

Abstract

Introduction: The lung fissures are helpful in the movement of lobes in relation to one another. Variation in the presence or absence of fissures indicates about the pattern of development of the lung. The study was done to observe the appearance of lung fissures in human fetal lungs in relation to the gestational age. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy on 32 pairs of human fetal lungs of either gender which were divided into five subgroups of various gestational ages ranging from 15 weeks to 40 weeks. The morphological details of the appearance of fissures of lungs and the presence of any variation were noted. Results: Out of 32 specimens of the right fetal lung, the horizontal fissure was absent in two fetuses. The oblique fissure was complete and present in all 32 specimens of the right lung. Among 32 specimens of the left lung, the absence of oblique fissure was observed in one lung. No accessory fissure and lobe was seen. Conclusion: In our study, there was no correlation between the appearance of fissure and gestational age as the absence of horizontal fissure in the right lung is found among two gestational age groups; one in 21–25 weeks and one in 36–40 weeks. Furthermore, the absence of oblique fissure in the left lung is seen in the age group of 36–40 weeks. However, it was found that oblique fissure in both lungs and horizontal fissure in the right lung appear as early as 15 weeks of gestation.

Keywords

• fissures
• fetal lungs
• lung lobes